Day 40 — Conclusion
Saturday, April 7, 2007
God’s Word
“God has begun a good work in me and God is well able to bring it to full completion.” — Philippians 1:6
Good Work
This is the final day of Lent, the 40-day liturgical season beginning on Ash Wednesday.
Lent concludes today with the Great Vigil of Easter. The 40 Days of Lent recall the days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11).
Lent has been a time of penance and discipline.
Lent concludes today with the Great Vigil of Easter. The 40 Days of Lent recall the days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Mt. 4:1-11).
Lent has been a time of penance and discipline.
Lent is intended to be a time of reflection, repentance and renewal.
Lent runs concurrent with the very beginning of spring. In Minnesota, we were in deep freeze when Lent began on Ash Wednesday. By the time Easter arrives, the birds may be singing and the light will be arriving earlier and staying later. Ash Wednesday begins with darkness.
The Easter Vigil has traditionally been the time for baptism. New Christians used the 40 Days of
Lent as a time of preparation to grow in their new faith and discern its meaning for life. This was followed by baptism commonly done in large groups. In recent years, we’ve done large numbers of baptisms at the Easter Vigil here at Cambridge Lutheran Church.
The Easter Vigil begins with fire in the darkness — the first light of Easter breaking into our darkness.
We hope that your 40 day Lenten experience this year has been a time of reflection, repentance and renewal — about your life and your faith.
We hope that it has been a time when God has begun a good work in you — a work which God is bringing to completion, and has brought to completion, through the work of Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection.
